November 17, 2017
Summary: Temperatures are close to 20 degrees cooler in Kern County than they were 24 hours ago. Even further north, readings are a good 7 to 10 degrees off of yesterday’s readings. A cooler air mass has now taken over behind a cold front which moved through during the predawn hours. Temperatures tonight and tomorrow night will actually be closer to seasonal values than we’ve seen in quite some time as readings will drop into the mid 30s in the colder locations and upper 30s to lower 40s elsewhere.
As expected, there are plenty of upslope clouds, especially banking against the north facing slopes of the Tehachapi’s and no doubt that process will continue through Sunday morning.
Upper level high pressure will begin to filter in from the west, ensuring the storm track remains well to our north over the weekend. Mostly clear skies will prevail Saturday through Sunday after the upslope clouds burn off in the south valley Saturday morning.
The next Pacific storm will drop out of the Gulf of Alaska and into the Pacific Northwest Sunday. A subtropical flow will again undercut the low and this mess will move into northern California Monday and Tuesday. However, this time it doesn’t appear the flow will be especially abundant, so precip amounts to our north will be considerably lighter.
From mid week through the weekend, a high center will develop southwest of San Diego with the storm track moving from southwest to northeast into the Pacific Northwest and parts of northern California. So, it looks like our main challenge will be areas of night and morning fog and low clouds with above average temperatures.
Forecast: Gradual clearing tonight with the exception of Kern County and possibly eastern Tulare County where partly to mostly cloudy skies may prevail into Saturday morning. Mostly clear Saturday afternoon through Sunday night with areas of night and morning fog. Variable cloudiness Monday through Tuesday with patchy night and morning fog. Mostly clear to possibly occasionally partly cloudy Tuesday night through Friday with patchy night and morning fog.
Short Term:
| Madera 37/65/37/66 | Reedley 36/65/36/66 | Dinuba 37/64/36/65 | |
| Porterville 38/64/37/67 | Lindsay 35/65/36/67 | Delano 41/65/42/67 | |
| Bakersfield 45/67/46/68 | Arvin 46/66/47/69 | Taft 47/68/48/68 | |
| Lamont 45/66/46/69 | Pixley 38/66/37/67 | Tulare 36/65/36/66 | |
| Woodlake 37/65/37/67 | Hanford 37/66/37/67 | Orosi 36/65/36/66 | |
Winds: Expect winds to be out of the northwest this evening at 5 to 15 MPH with local gusts to 25 MPH, mainly along the west side. After midnight, winds will be generally less than 10 MPH with periods of near calm conditions, continuing through Sunday.
Rain: Expect dry conditions through at least the middle of next week and possible into the coming weekend.
Frost Information: All locations will be above 32 degrees tonight. Where it clears and wind settles down, mid 30s are certainly possible with isolated pockets down to around 33 to 35 or so. Upslope clouds will probably regenerate over Kern County for much of the night, and possibly eastern Tulare County. Although if it clears in Tulare County, mid to upper 30s will be possible in the coldest locations.
There may be a few more locations in the mid to upper 30s Sunday morning due to reduced cloud cover and wind conditions.
For next week, a west to southwest flow will prevail as we remain well south of the jet stream, meaning above freezing conditions will continue. Even the latest two week model is indicating no cold air masses will invade the area, so with some luck we’ll get through November with no frost.
Next Report: Saturday, November 18